Community input vital in city schools' future

As he begins his first full year as the city school district's superintendent, Bolgen Vargas is faced with more challenges than resources. His charge - to minimize the former by making maximum use of the latter - is daunting, but he has mapped out a definitive vision and put in place a credible leadership team. He must now transition from proposing strategies to propelling change if he is to improve the performance of Rochester's city schools - and, more importantly, the opportunities for its children.

The Editorial Board, understanding how vital this mission is, will make encouraging community conversation around city schools among its top priorities in the coming year.

The problems are well-known: Only about half of students graduate from high school in four years, and the figure is far worse for black males. Fewer than 10 percent of graduates are deemed "college ready."

Vargas has laid out reasonable plans for tackling these issues: Closing some schools and renovating others, getting a handle on truancy, and extending the school year by as much as 300 hours. These and other initiatives will need aggressive follow-through if progress is to be made.

Educators, though, are up against a formidable challenge: a student population that, overwhelmingly, is poor and not of two-parent families. The district cannot solve this problem alone.

Dialogue will be key. Schools need public support and the public needs high-performing schools. The Editorial Board encourages both, and will focus closely on robust public discussion on such issues in 2013.